Safety device for electrical window regulator

ABSTRACT

A safety device for an electrical window regulator comprising a wiring circuit for energizing the window regulator including a double-pole reverser operated by buttons permitting raising or lowering of the window of a vehicle, a pressure detector responsive to the insertion of an obstacle between the top of the window and the top of the door of the vehicle, and a time lagged reversing relay responsive to the pressure detector for reversing the conductors of said wiring circuit for lowering the window. The safety device includes a device responsive to operation of the time-lagged relay for preventing the double-pole reverser from causing raising of the window during the time-lag of the relay.

United States Patent Boyriv n [451 Nov. 14, 1972 [5 SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL 3,045,164 7/1962 Russell ..3l8/266 WINDOW REGULATOR 3,522,506 8/1970 Schaefer ..318/266 72 P Inventor aul Boyriven, Pans, France mma'y Examiner Bemard A Gilheany [73] Assignee: Compagnie Industrielle De Mech- Assistant Examiner-W. E. Duncanson, Jr.

anismes, Courbevo i e, Franc e 7 7 Attorney-Raymond A. Robic [22] Filed: Dec. 3, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl' 95273 A safety device for an electrical window regulator comprising a wiring circuit for energizingthe window [30] Foreign Application Priority Data regulator including a double-pole reverser operated by May 4, 1970 France ..7016143 bumms Permitting raising Wedng the of a vehicle, a pressure detector responsive to the insertion of an obstacle between the top of the window il and the top of the door of the vehicle and a time [58] Field of Search ..sli'z'sfiil'ii, 466, 265, lagged reversingfelay espmsive P i P' 318/267 468 tector for reversing the conductors of said wlrlngclrcurt for lowering the window. The safety device mcludes a device responsive to operation of the time- [56] References C'ted lagged relay for preventing the double-pole reverser UNITE STATES PATENTS from causing raising of the window during the time-lag fth l 2,737,621 3/1956 Hamilton ..3l8/266 6 re ay 3,513,374 5/1970 Koment ..3l8/266 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL WINDOW REGULATOR This invention relates to a safety device for electrical window regulators.

As the development of the so-called safety device, for the mechanisms of electrical window-regulators permitting the reversal of the movement of the window regulators has revealed very generally and for example in the case of US. Pat. application Ser. No. 1468 filed Jan. 8, 1970, a new accident risk, in that when an accidental squeezing occurs and more especially of the head of a child, the reaction of this child or of its parents is customarily to press the lowering button, whereas, since the reversal of run of the motor has already and precisely just been previously realized by the safety device, this second untimely reversal has the reverse effect of causing the-window to be raised once more and therefore of maintaining the squeezing, prolonging in as much this unpleasant situation, which can then turn into panic. l

The object of the present invention is first to avoid this risk, by neutralizing the effect of such an unfortunate reaction, by the addition to the combination of means disclosed in the above mentioned application and including a conventionnel. reverser and a timelagged reversing relay, of auxiliary circuits, one shunting the terminals of the reverser actuated by the raising or lowering buttons, whilst it is capable of being closed or opened, and another one inserted into the exciting circuit of the time-lagged reversing relay, by means of respective switches, the working of which is coupled with that of the said time-lagged reversing relay and in such a way that it is its excitation which brings about the opening of the said circuits and during the whole of the duration of the time-lag. H T

A further object of the invention is to allow, the use of a single pair of reversers to allow one to realize successively the working of four window-regulators and even, if necessary, the operation of the hood or of the trunk of the vehicle for example, through the effect of the combination of the said pair of reversers with a socalled selector device, allowing a sort of switching, successively, of each of the mechanisms of windowregulators or other electric mechanisms.

The new features, as well as others which are linked therewith, and the advantages of the present invention will be better understood by referring to the following description and to the attached drawings, giving by mere way of example an advantageous, but by no means restrictive, implementation diagram and with regard to which:

FIG. I shows the diagram of the two double-pole reversers and of the wiring ensuring the feed of an electric motor having reversal of rotation and of the corresponding safety device of an electric window-regulator of a car door, as well as the addition to this diagram of a selector allowing successively the raising operation of the window associated with each of the four windowregulators;

FIG. 2 shows the same diagram but in the position of I about the excitation of the time-lagged reversing relay through the safety device and, automatically, the lowering movement of the corresponding windowregulator; and l 4 FIG. 4 again shows the'same diagram, but now assuming that the conventional reverser is operated during the duration of the time-lag of the reversing relay excited in accordance with FIG. 3, to show that in this situation the action of the lowering button of the window on such conventional reverser is neutralized and so does not bring about about the upward movement of the window.

In these FIGS. 1 designates a conventional doublepole reverser, the rocking of which ensures alternately, through the two customary raising or lowering buttons of a vehicle, the corresponding operations of each window-regulator, whilst 2 designates a time-lagged (preferably pneumatically) auxiliary reversing relay, which delays by several seconds its return to a position of rest, when its winding 3 has been excited by the mutual contact of the conductors, normally separated, 4 and 5 of a safety device for detecting any squeezing pressure between the door frame and the window.

In accordance with the present invention, this timelagged reversing relay 2 is improved by the fact that the rocking of its stirrup ensuring the double-pole reversal also entails the working of two auxiliary switches 6 and 7, respectively inserted on the one hand into the auxiliary circuit for neutralizing the effect of the lowering button of the reverser 1 and on the other hand into the exciting circuit for the winding 3, so as to open these auxiliary circuits, during the whole of the duration of the time-lag.

Finally, 8 designates a selector, for example of the so-called keyboard type, allowing one to transfer the combined effects of the reversers l and 2 and of their aforesaid auxiliary circuits successively to each of the motors M having reversal of run and their corresponding safety devices. v

This having been disclosed, by virtue of the fact that the aforesaid auxiliary circuits are normally closed, that is to say in the position of rest of the time-lagged reversing relay 2, there is thus practically nothing changed in relation to the invention disclosed in the above-identified application and therefore the correct working of the whole of the combined means and procedures thus described is still inferred just as easily, from the mere comparison of the diagram of FIG. 1 (allowing the raising of the window) with that of FIG. 1 (allowing the lowering). Since the time-lagged relay 2 does not then play any part, it appears quite clearly that, disregarding the known end-of-travel contacts which are not shown, the changing of the direction of rotation of any window-regulator motor M, according to the switching position by the selector 8, results from the simple double-pole crossing of the feed wires, by the conventional double-pole reverser 1 under the action of the raising or lowering buttons.

In fact, it is still just as easy to understand, in accordance with FIG. 3, that the same double-pole reversal of the feed wires of any motor M may be realized by the time-lagged reverser inserted into the same circuit. It is sufficient for the time-lagged reverser remote-controlled by the exciting circuit of its winding 3 due to closure of the contacts 4 and 5 under the action of a squeezing pressure detector, to realize the instantaneous automatic reversal of the direction of rotation of the motor M in question and therefore of the movement of the corresponding window-regulator, as soon as there is squeezing or an obstacle interposed between the top of the window and the crosspiece at the top of the door. 1

However, in accordance with the present invention one now avoids the previous risk, that in this position i and during the whole of the duration of the time-lag after the excitation of the relay 2, whilst believing to be ample through the effect of an elastic connectionbetween the raising and lowering buttons and the stirrup which they control, soas to give a priority to the control of this stirrup through the electro-magnetic acting rightly by pressing on the lowering button of the reverser 1 one brings about on the contrary the raising prior reversal through of the window, by virtue of the this relay 2.

In fact now, upon the rocking of the time-lagged 7 reverser 2 and during the whole of the'duration of its time-lag, its coupling with the switches 6 and 7 ensures the opening of the auxiliary circuits where they are respectively inserted. One realizes automatically 'the neutralization, at the same time, of both the lowering command by the reverser 1 and the excitation 'of the winding 3 of the relay 2. In addition, this is realized for any of the motors M through the effect of the selector 8 whereas, without a selector, it would be necessary"to repeat the combination of the reversers l and their auxiliary circuits and their switches 6 and each door.

Of course, this false operation apart, upon the detec tion of a squeezed obstacle bringing about the contact of the conductors 4 and 5 and thus the closure of the exciting circuit of the reversing relay 2, and during the whole of the time of its time-lag, the so-called raising operation will therefore find itself inverted into a lowering one, whilst after this time lag has elapsed the Tray relay efiect.

I claim: 2 1. A safety device for an electrical window regulator operated by a dc motor comprising a wiring circuit for energizing said window regulator from a dc. source and including a double-pole reverser operated by buttons permitting to reverse the polarity of the potential applied to the motor so as to cause raising or owering of a window of a vehicle, a squeezing pressure detector located adjacent the top of the window and responsive to the insertion of an obstacle between the top of the window and the top of the door of the vehicle during raising of the window, a time-lagged reversing relay responsive to said pressure detector when an obstacle is detected for reversing the polarity of the potential applied to said motor for lowering said window during a time interval sufficient to permit removal of said obstacle, and means responsive to said time-lagged relay for preventing inadvertent raising of the window during said time interval'by operation of the lowering button of the double-pole reverser.

A safety device as defined in claim 1, wherein said meansincludes two switches of said time-lagged relay, one located in the portion of the wiring circuit permitting' the lowering of the window by the operation of the lowering button of the double-pole reverser and arranged to open said portion of the wiring circuit, and the other located in the exciting circuit of said timelagged reversing relay for preventing energization of said relay during the time-lag thereof.

3. A safety device for an electric window regular in accordance with ,claim 1, further comprising a selector device permitting to operate successively each of the four window-regulators or other mechanisms of electrical operation, such as the trunk or the hood of the vehicle. 

1. A safety device for an electrical window regulator operated by a d.c. motor comprising a wiring circuit for energizing said window regulator from a d.c. source and including a double-pole reverser operated by buttons permitting to reverse the polarity of the potential applied to the motor so as to cause raising or lowering of a window of a vehicle, a squeezing pressure detector located adjacent the top of the window and responsive to the insertion of an obstacle between the top of the window and the top of the door of the vehicle during raising of the window, a time-lagged reversing relay responsive to said pressure detector when an obstacle is detected for reversing the polarity of the potential applied to said motor for lowering said window during a time interval sufficient to permit removal of said obstacle, and means responsive to said time-lagged relay for preventing inadvertent raising of the window during said time interval by operation of the lowering button of the double-pole reverser.
 2. A safety device as defined in claim 1, wherein said means includes two switches of said time-lagged relay, one located in the portion of the wiring circuit permitting the lowering of the window by the operation of the lowering button of the double-pole reverser and arranged to open said portion of the wiring circuit, and the other located in the exciting circuit of said time-lagged reversing relay for preventing energization of said relay during the time-lag thereof.
 3. A safety device for an electric window regular in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a selector device permitting to operate successively each of the four window-regulators or other mechanisms of electrical operation, such as the trunk or the hood of the vehicle. 